Walking doll with adjustable hip joints



Dec. 25, 1956 l. MAUSKOPF 2,775,063

WALKING DOLL WIQ'H ADJUSTABLE HIP JOINTS Filed J6 INVENTOR r 70 IRl fll/G MAusKoPF 14 BY:

AT RNEY United States Patent WALKING DOLL WITH ADJUSTABLE HIP JOINTS Irving Mauskopf, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application November 7, 1952, Serial No. 319,344

1 Claim. (Cl. 46-149) tions are both positive in the sense that once the hip joints are adjusted to either position they will remain in such position until a conscious and deliberate efiort is made to re-adjust them to the other position.

There are two hip joints, one for each leg and either is operable independently of the other in the sense that each may be adjusted from one position to another without any interference whatsoever or influence upon the other. Of course, the two hip joints function conjointly when the doll is in walking motion.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an adjustable hip joint construction of the character described which -is made of relatively few and relatively simple component parts and which may very readily be assembled and installed. These component parts are relatively strong in construction and they strongly resist any deliberate or unintentional eflorts on the part of those playing with the doll to destroy them or to put them out of working order or commission.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional View through the hip joints of a walking doll made in accordance with this invention, showing the hip construction which is herein described and claimed, including the resilient locking means which is provided in each hip joint for locking the same in walking or sitting position.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing a top view of the two hip joints.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1, showing how the hip joint members are adjustably secured to each other and to a central post extending vertically through the body or torso of the doll.

Fig. 4 is another section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, showing an end view of one of the hip joint members and showing the locking means for locking it in either of its two positions.

The walking doll which is herein claimed has a hollow body or torso 10 and a pair of hollow legs 12 and 14 respectively. There are two sockets 16 and 18 respectively to accommodate legs 12 and 14. It will be noted that these sockets open to the inside of the dolls body. It will also be noted that an opening 20 is formed at the upper end of each hollow leg for communication with the inside of the body.

There are three vertically extending parallel rods 22, 24 and 26 in the dolls body which are connected at their lower ends to the hip joint mechanism herein claimed. Rod 24 is a centrally extending rod which is disposed between the other two rods 22 and 26. Rod 24 is con- Pins 38 and 46 are engageable with these grooves.

2 nected to both hip joints whereas the other two rods 22 and 26 are each connected to a single hip joint. The upper ends of the three rods 22, 24 and 26 may be connected to any appropriate mechanism or to any appropriate anchoring devices within the hollow body or torso of the doll.

The hip joint mechanism herein claimed comprises a pair of transverse, axially aligned cylinders 36) and 32 respectively, a pair of rods 34 and 36 extending through said cylinders and a pair of cross-pins 38 and 40 extending through the outer ends of said rods 34 and 36. The inner ends of rods 34 and 36 are provided with heads 42 and 44 respectively and it will be noted that springs 46 and 48 are mounted on said rods and that they bear at their inner ends against the rod heads 42 and 44. The outer ends of the springs bear against the closed ends 50 and 52 of cylinders 30 and 32. Consequently, since springs 46 and 48 are compression springs, they tend to thrust rods 34 and 36 inwardly and toward each other.

On the outside of the closed ends of cylinders 30 and 32 are grooves 54 and 56 and cross-grooves'58 and 60. The drawing shows them in engagement with grooves 54 and 56 and it will be seen that the legs of the doll are thereby positioned for walking movement. Pins 38 and 40 are fixed to the legs as Fig. 4 clearly shows and consequently the legs may be pivoted to sitting position and the pins will thereby be moved out of grooves 54 and 56 and into grooves 58 and 60. Springs 46 and 4S tend to hold the pins in whichever groove they happen to occupy at a given time. Movement of the pins out of the grooves takes place against the spring action and accidental dislodgment of said pins from their respective grooves is thereby prevented.

It will be noted that the sockets of the two legs of the doll serve as bearings with respect to the two cylinders. This is especially true of the lower portion of the two cylinders bearing against the lower portion of the two sockets.

Cylinder 30 has an extension piece 62 projecting in the direction of cylinder 32 and cylinder 32 has a projection piece 64 directed toward cylinder 30. These two extension pieces are spaced from each other diametrically opposite each other, extension piece 62 being situated above extension piece 64. An elongated or elliptical hole 66 is formed in extension piece 62 and a similar registering hole 68 is formed in extension piece 64. Rod 24 projects through the two holes 66 and 68 and it may be provided with an enlargement 70 at its lower end. Rod 24 fits very loosely in these two holes and the cylinders are therefore free to turn on their own longitudinal axes relative to each other and relative to rod 24, within reasonable and predetermined limitations. It will be noted that the lower end of rod 22 is fixed to cylinder 30 and that the lower end of rod 26 is fixed to cylinder 32.

A horizontal bar 72 is mounted on rods 22, 24 and 26 as Fig. 1 clearly shows. There are three holes 74, 76 and '78 in said bar to accommodate these three rods. A pin 80 secures the bar to the center rod 24 and the upper end of the center rod may be secured to the head of the doll although this is not shown. it will be apparent from this arrangement that when the head of the doll is turned in one direction, rod 24 and bar 72 will turn with it in the same direction and similarly when the head of the doll is turned in the opposite direction, so will rod 24 and bar 72 turn in the opposite direction. By the same token, opposite movement of rods 22 and 26 and of cylinders 30 and 32 and hence of legs 12 and 14 will be etlected. Thus, when rod 24 turns in one direction, leg 12 will be thrust forwardly about the axis of cylinder 39 and leg 14 will be thrust backwardly about the axis of cylinder 32. When rod 24 is turned in the opposite direction, leg 12 will be thrust backwardly and leg 14 will be thrust forwardly.

This action takes place in reverse order too. Thus, when leg 12 is caused to swing forwardly, it will act through cylinder 3%, rod 22, bar '72, rod 26 and cylinder 32 to thrust leg 1 backwardly. Similarly, a backward movement of leg 12 will cause leg 14 to move forwardly and any movement of leg 14 will cause an opposite movement of leg 12. And since the head of the doll turns integrally with rod 24 and bar 72, such movement of the legs will produce corresponding movement of the head.

When it is desired to change the positions of the legs, as from sitting to standing or walking positions or from standing or walking to sitting positions, all that need be done is to grasp either leg and to swing it relative to the cylinder to which it is connected. Its pin 3% or 40 will thereby be caused to slip out of one groove and into the other groove which is perpendicular to it. The other leg and the body of the doll should preferably be held stationary while the first mentioned leg is swung from one position to the other as above indicated.

The foregoing is illustrative of a preferred form of this invention and it will be understood that it may be modified in many ways and other forms may be provided within the broad spirit of the invention and the broad scope of the claim.

I claim:

In a walking doll having a hollow body and hip sockets formed in said hollow body and legs movably seated in said hip sockets, the combination of a pair of axially aligned cylinders, one being adjustably secured to one leg and the other being adjustably secured to the other leg, tensional locking means between each leg and the cylinder to which it is adjustably secured for releasably locking the leg in either of two angularly spaced positions against angular movement relative to said cylinder, an extension piece on one of said cylinders projecting toward the other cylinder, at second extension piece on the other cylinder projecting toward the first cylinder, said extension pieces being vertically spaced from each other and having relatively elongated holes formed therein in vertical registration with each other, and a vertically extending rod mounted within the hollow body and projecting through said registering holes, said rod fitting loosely in said holes to permit of some measure of angular movement of said cylinders relative to each other, each cylinder being provided with a longitudinally extending hole formed therein and a shoulder at the outer end of said hole, a rod being disposed within said hole and having a head at the inner end of said hole, said tensional means comprising a compression spring mounted on said rod and bearing at one end against the head of said rod and at the opposite end against said shoulder, a crosspin secured to the opposite end of the rod from its head and a pair of intersecting grooves formed at the outer end of said cylinder to receive said crosspin in either of two positions, said crosspin being secured to the leg to which it is adjacent for adjustably securing said leg to the cylinder against which said crosspin is disposed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 738,628 Reinhardt Sept. 8, 1903 1,589,750 Gans June 22, 1926 2,275,047 Hayden Mar. 3, 1942 2,593,187 Riechelson Apr. 15, 1952 2,622,368 Gerbaud Dec. 23, 1952 2,689,431 Beebe Sept. 21, 1954 

